Strikeforce: What To Do With Bobby Lashley Following the Chad Griggs Loss

Former WWE superstar and former NAIA wrestling champion Bobby Lashley has suffered his first defeat in the mixed martial arts world to IFL veteran Chad Griggs.

Early in the fight Lashley showed his dominance as a wrestler, but as the fight wore on, Lashley grew tired and Griggs was able to get the upset and score a victory via TKO late in the second round.

Prior to the loss, Lashley was calling out the monsters of the division in Alistair Overeem and FedorEmelianenko, but the Griggs lost proved he is definitely not ready for the elite in Strikeforce.

The big question on the mind of mixed martial arts fans, is who will Strikeforce give Lashley next?

I believe that Strikeforce should avoid the freak show fight with Batista, and give Lashley some solid up and comers, but really they could give him Brett Rogers. Rogers isn't an elite opponent, but could give Lashley another step up in the right direction.

However, the Batista fight could be what Strikeforce wants due to ratings and to give Lashley an easy boost in his mixed martial arts career. But there would be no real significance of the fight if Lashley won, and if Lashley actually lost, people would be telling him to forget mixed martial arts all together.

I think a big ratings draw would be if Lashley took on Andrei Arlovski. Both fighters are coming off losses and both fighters are well known, and while many would feel Arlovski would get the nod, if Lashley were to pull off the victory, he would get back on track in a lot more of a respectable manner than just facing an easy opponent.

Overall, I believe Lashley is in an ugly predicament, because so much is expected of him due to his fame. If Lashley can improve his conditioning and evolve as a mixed martial artist, he can get himself back on track and maybe one day get the elite of the division.

But for now, Lashley will have to do the arduous task of trying to rebuild his career and prove that he deserves the spotlight.